It has been said that the term “eavesdropper” evolved from those who stood under the eaves of a house to surreptitiously listen to the goings-on inside. In this age of digital advancement, we now invite eavesdroppers into our homes and offices in the form of artificially intelligent digital assistants. While devices like the Google Home, Apple’s Siri and the Amazon Echo offer great convenience and enjoyment, there are privacy trade-offs; and some are less obvious than others.

Devices like Amazon Echo, Google Home and the forthcoming Apple Homepod are bringing artificial intelligence to the masses. They offer the potential to increase our efficiency by managing our calendar, contacts and to-do lists. With a simple verbal command, they can bring us customized news briefings and stock market reports and even brighten us up with music and jokes. I am a fan, but if you decide to invite one of these devices into your daily routine, you need to understand the privacy implications.

Americans place a high value on privacy, dating back to the foundation of our country and the Fourth Amendment right to be secure in our “persons, houses, papers, and effects.” Interestingly, the word “privacy” is not found in the Fourth Amendment. Over time and through legal battles, however, courts have come to recognize a fundamental “zone of privacy” contained within the “penumbra” of rights protected by the Constitution.[1] Now, with advances in artificially intelligent devices and machine learning, individuals willingly sacrifice that hard-fought privacy in return for the many conveniences offered by “smart” digital assistants.

If you have an Amazon Echo, try this: Say, "Alexa, tell me a joke," but do it very quickly so that you finish the request before Alexa "wakes up" (indicated on the Echo by the blue light). Did you notice that Alexa dutifully complied, seemingly catching the request before she (it?) was awake? There is a simple explanation for this: Alexa (like other artificially intelligent digital assistants) is always listening. Indeed, Alexa starts recording "a fraction of a second” before the wake word. Google Home listens to snippets of conversations to detect the "hotword."

Article Written for: American Bar Association’s Business Law TodayEric Boughman, Sara Beth A.R. Kohut, David Sella-Villa, Michael V. SilvestroThe decision to use voice-controlled digital assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and the Google Assistant, may present a Faustian bargain. While these technologies offer great potential for improving quality of life, they also expose users to privacy risks by perpetually listening for voice data and transmitting it to third parties.

Article Written for: Forbes.comDespite some misconceptions, using bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for asset protection in connection with offshore planning may be an effective strategy. A crucial facet to using foreign trusts to protect wealth is ensuring that the trustee and trust assets remain outside of any jurisdiction where the grantor might be sued. Some U.S. states may find the concept of self-settled trusts anathema to public policy and thus choose to ignore the trust and treat the grantor/beneficiary as the de facto owner of trust assets.

Article Written for : Forbes.comIs it any surprise that our new president, Donald Trump, may have strategically manipulated the tax code to avoid paying federal income tax? Mr. Trump calls this “smart,” and many in the same boat would agree. Similarly, sophisticated clients and advisors implement legal tactics to prudently preserve and protect wealth.

One strategy growing in popularity is the “self-settled” trust for asset protection. Under traditional trust law, a grantor conveys assets to a trustee, for the benefit of someone else, such as his children. The gift “divides” ownership between so-called legal title and equitable title. The trustee may legally oversee the assets (pursuant to a trust agreement) benefitting beneficiaries (who have no control over trust assets). Once the assets are in trust, they are generally protected from future creditors of the grantor, trustee (with legal title), and beneficiaries (with equitable title).

Limited liability companies have become the entity of choice for small business owners and are commonly used by professionals in asset protection planning. Choosing to form an LLC instead of a corporation may be prudent, but it raises the question of where to form the LLC. There are several factors to consider in deciding where to establish the entity. Picking the right LLC jurisdiction may be as important as the decision to use an LLC.

In 2010, the Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling that eviscerated the effectiveness of the Florida single­member LLC for asset protection purposes.

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